Hunting boot protector



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April 14, 1964 J. W. GRAHAM ETAL 3,128,565

HUNTING BOOT PROTECTOR Filed Aug. 17, 1961 Jae W ralmn v Harold R. Graham 4 I INVENTORS.

United States Patent This invention relates to new and useful improvements in leg protectors for safeguarding the legs and feet of hunters or other persons while walking-through bushes, rocks, swamps and other areas harboring-snakes.

In particular, the invention concerns itself with a leg or hunting boot protector of the-type disclosed in our copending patent application serial No; 809,743, filed April 29, 1959, which has matured into Patent No. 3,003,26l, granted October 10, 1961, of which this application is an improvement.

The principal object of the present invention is to struc turally land functionallyimprove upon our earlier invention disclosed in the aforementioned co-pendingapplication, the present invention being especially easy to apply and remove, comfortable to wear, and adaptable tovery economical manufacture.

These together with other advantages and objects which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed,--reference being had to the accompanying drawing-forming-a-part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a sideekvationalview of the improved protector applied to the leg ofa user;

FIGUREZ is a rearelevational view thereof;

FIGURE 3 is an-enlarged'vertical sectional view, taken substantially in the plane-of the line 33 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is anenlargedhorizontal sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 4-4 in FIG- U-RE 1; and

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the foot covering memberof the protector.

Referring now'to the accompanying drawings in detail, the improved protector'isdesignated generally by the numeral and consists of two main components, namely, a leg covering member 12 and a foot covering member 14.

The member 12 is of an open-ended, substantially tubular form and is provided with a longitudinal split at the back thereof, the split edges being undercut, forming recesses or undercut portions, and overlapped as indicated at 16. The member 12 is formed from suitable material such as resinous plastic, or the like, which is sufiiciently rigid for the member to sustain its shape, yet is resiliently flexible enough to permit the member to be spread apart at the split edges 16 to facilitate its positioning on and removal from the leg 18 of the user. Keeper tabs 20 are provided integrally at one of the split edges :16 and overlap the other edge in order to maintain the split edges in alignment when the member is closed, and in addition, buckle-equipped straps 22 extend transversely of the split edges to retain the member in its closed position. Of course, upon separation of these buckle-equipped straps, opening of the leg member is facilitated.

The front upper portion of the leg member 12 is forwardly ofiset as indicated at 24 to provide clearance for the users knee and an elastic band 26 is secured at the ends thereof as at 28 to the inside of the opposite side portions of the olfset portion 24. The band 26 extends transversely in the portion .24 and engages the front of the knee in order to maintain the users leg substantially centralized in the member 12. The rear upper portion 3,128,565 Patented Apr. 14, .1964

of the member 12 is provided with a recess 30* to afford clearance for the users leg while stooping or sitting, as will be readily apparent. Finally, the'inside of the lower end portion of the member 12 is providedat theback and partly around the sides thereof with a cushioning liner 32 to engage the heel portion of the users hunting boot 34.

The foot covering member 1 4 is also formed from resinous'pl-astic orother material capable of sustaining the shape of the member. As such, the member:1 4 is in the form of a cap which" substantially conforms to -and. covers the upper of the boot 34, as illustrated. The in-' terior of the member 1 4 is provided with a cushioning liner 36 to engage the upper of the :boot and the top portion of the member 14 projects into the lower end por tion of the leg member 12 when the members 12,"14,.are assembled.

A substantially stiff but flexible tongueBS iS-secured by suitable fasteners 49 to the inside of the lower front portion of the leg member 12 and is provided with snap fastener elements 42 for separable attachment to coacting elements 44 on the foot member 514, the flexibility 'of the tongue 38 providing an articulated connection between the members 12, 14 to facilitate walking or other movement of the users foot relative to the leg.

Apart from being'connected to the member.'12 by the tongue 38, the member 14 is also retained in position on the boot 34 by a plurality of straps, now to bedescribed;

A'strap 46 extends under the'shank of the boot andJis of as at 52 to one side of the member l t and is provided at its other end with a hook 54 for adjustable engagement with apertures 56 formed in a complemental, but non-' elastic stnap 53 which is secured as at '60 tothe relatively opposite side of the member 14. In addition, an elastic tensioning strap 62, provided intermediate its ends with a pad 64, engages the instep of the boot, the end portions of the strap 62 passing slidably outwardlythrough'slots 66 formed in the side portions of the member 14 and being provided at their ends with hooks 68 which'are adjustably engageable with apertures 70 to the member 1-4, as illustrated. The adjustable engagement of the hooks 68 in the apertures 70'affords' an adjustment .for'

tensioning the strap -62 against the instep of theboot, as will be apparent.

The foregoing is considered as illustnative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those sklled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation as shown and described, and all suitable modifications may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a protector, a boot covering member generally shaped so as to conform to the upper portion of a boot and including an upper portion and sides, a pair of slots through said sides, transverse rows of apertures through said upper portion of the boot covering member adjacent and inwardly of said slots, a boot instep engaging and tensioning elastic strap having its intermediate portion disposed freely within the upper portion of said member and its end portions projecting slidably outwardly through said slots, and hooks provided at the ends of said strap, said hooks being selectively engageable with the apertures in said rows whereby to adjust the tensioning of said strap.

2. A protector comprising in combination a tubular leg enclosing member and a boot covering member, said members being substantially rigid and self-sustaining, said boot covering member having an upper portion projecting into the lower end portion of said leg enclosing member and being movable relative thereto, and a substantially still but flexible tongue separably connecting said boot covering member solely to the front of the lower end portion of the leg enclosing member so as to provide a connection therebetween While allowing for a flexing in response to the movement of the wearers foot relative to his leg, said tubular leg enclosing member being longitudinally split so as to form two separable longitudinal edges for facilitating its positioning on and removal from the leg of a wearer, a first undercut portion formed in the outer surface of said leg member along a first one of said edges, a second undercut portion formed in the inner surface of said leg member along the second one of said edges, said undercut portions receiving the opposite edges therein, tabs on said leg member projecting over the undercut portion along the first edge and maintaining the edges in alignment when the edges are received within the undercut portions, and means for releasably interconnecting said edges.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said boot covering member upper portion is provided at opposite sides with a pair of slots and a transverse row of apertures adjacent to and inward of each slot, and a boot instep engaging and tensioning elastic strap having its intermediate portion disposed within the upper portion of the boot member and its end portions projecting slidably outwardly through said slots, and a hook provided at each end of said strap, both of said hooks being selectively engageable with the apertures in the rows whereby to adjust the tensioning of said strap.

4. A protector comprising in combination a tubular leg enclosing member and a boot covering member, said members being substantially rigid and self-sustaining, said boot covering member having an upper portion projecting into the lower end portion of said leg enclosing member and being movable relative thereto, and a substantially stifi but flexible tongue separably connecting said foot covering member solely to the front of the lower end portion of the leg enclosing member so as to provide a connection therebetween while allowing 'for a flexing in response to the movement of the wears foot relative to his leg, said boot covering member upper portion being provided at opposite sides with a pair of slots and a trans verse row of apertures adjacent to and inward of each slot, and a boot instep engaging and tensioning elastic strap having its intermediate portion disposed within the upper portion of the boot member and its end portions projecting slidably outwardly through said slots,

4 and a hook provided at each end of said strap, both of said hooks being selectively engageable with the apertures in the rows whereby to adjust the tensioning of said strap.

5. A protector comprising in combination a tubular leg surrounding member and a boot covering member, said members being substantially rigid and self-sustaining, said boot covering member having an upper portion projecting into the lower end portion of said leg surrounding member and being movable relative to the leg surrounding member within the lower end portion, and a flexible tongue separably connecting said boot covering member solely to the front of the lower end portion of the leg surrounding member so as to provide a connection therebetween while allowing for a flexing in response to the movement of the wearers foot relative to his leg, said boot covering member upper portion being provided at opposite sides with a pair of slots and a transverse row of apertures adjacent to and inward of at least one of said slots, and a boot instep engaging and tensioning elastic strap having its intermediate portion disposed within the upper portion of the boot and its end portions projecting slidably outwardly through said slots, and a hook provided on at least one end of said stnap, said hook being selectively engageable with the apertures whereby to adjust the tensioning of said strap, and means securing the other end of the strap to the boot covering member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 342,152 Welton May 18, 1886 769,606 Heilbroner Sept. 6, 1904 1,184,013 Pierce May 23, 1916 1,516,465 Dennison et al Nov. 18, 1924 2,160,768 Wasser May 30, 1939 2,429,507 Ballenger Oct. 21, 1947 2,717,387 McMahan Sept. 13, 1955 2,733,443 Holder Feb. 7, 1956 2,779,108 Twiss Jan. 29, 1957 2,902,779 Cook Sept. 8, 1959 3,003,261 Graham et al. Oct. 10, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 202,900 Austria Apr. 10, 1959 893,521 France Ian. 31, 1944 53,847 Denmark Nov. 15, 1937 9,790 Great Britain Apr. 26, 1906 29,043 Great Britain Dec. 13, 1909 518,059 Great Britain Feb. 15, 1937 

1. IN A PROTECTOR, A BOOT COVERING MEMBER GENERALLY SHAPED SO AS TO CONFORM TO THE UPPER PORTION OF A BOOT AND INCLUDING AN UPPER PORTION AND SIDES, A PAIR OF SLOTS THROUGH SAID SIDES, TRANSVERSE ROWS OF APERTURES THROUGH SAID UPPER PORTION OF THE BOOT COVERING MEMBER ADACENT AND INWARDLY OF SAID SLOTS, A BOOT INSTEP ENGAGING AND TENSIONING ELASTIC STRAP HAVING ITS INTERMEDIATE PORTION DISPOSED FREELY WITHIN THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID MEMBER AND ITS END PORTIONS PROJECTING SLIDABLY OUTWARDLY THROUGH SAID SLOTS, AND HOOKS PROVIDED AT THE ENDS OF SAID STRAP, SAID HOOKS BEING SELECTIVELY ENGAGEABLE WITH THE APERTURES IN SAID ROWS WHEREBY TO ADJUST THE TENSIONING OF SAID STRAP. 